In a large four-bedroom complex in the upper-class region of Sienna Metropolis, a large city at the shores of the Pacific Ocean, a family prepared to go out. "Honey, we're going to be late", Rebecca Michelson shouted to her husband, as she hurriedly powdered her face in front of her dressing mirror. "I know; I'm almost done", he replied as he walked out of his closet, buttoning his shirt. He walked to the intercom and connected to his son's room. "Elijah! Are you ready?" he spoke into the intercom. "Yeah, Dad; I'm just waiting on you and mom", a voice responded.
Dr. Emmanuel Michelson is a world-renowned scientist who works and serves as the chairman of the Sienna Institute for Genetic Research and Analysis. He was the first scientist in the Institute to obtain his doctorate at the age of seventeen, going further to acquire a couple more by the age of twenty-three. He was considered a true genius, recognized in all fields of science, technology, mathematics and liberal arts. Due to this, even though he was the chairman, he was younger than almost all the high-ranking scientists in the Institute including his very own elder brother, Hezekiah Michelson, who was a genius in his own right and served as his vice chairman.
The first release of Iron woman was out in theatres and Dr. Michelson had taken his wife, Rebecca and nine-year-old son, Elijah to see it. The movie was as thrilling as expected. After the movie, he took them for ice cream at the city mall. Being an exciting night, Dr. Michelson decided to let loose and allowed Elijah to have seconds. As they rode back home in their family-sized convertible, Elijah laid back in his seat and started gazing at the stars.
"Dad, do you think there's life outside our galaxy?" he asked. "Hmm. I do believe there is. I find it quite difficult to think that we are alone", his father replied. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to meet an alien?" Elijah mumbled loudly, more to himself. "You may, or you may not. Fate is a fickle thing. We do not choose what comes next, we just have to go with the flow", his father said as he sped across the road.
As the car left the densely populated part of the city, a chain of spikes suddenly rolled onto the road. The car ran over the spikes, shredding all four tires in the process and causing the car to skid off-road. The car somersaulted a few times until it crashed wheels up, into the side of a nearby, closed convenience store. Dr. Michelson, in an upside-down position, lifted his head off the steering wheel's air bag with blood oozing from a cut on his head. "He immediately turned to his son, "Elijah, are you alright?" His compulsive habit of always having his family wear their seat belts had paid off. From the position Elijah was in, he could have very well flown out of the car when it somersaulted.
Elijah stirred a little before he opened his eyes. "Yeah dad, I'm okay, I just bumped my head". Dr. Michelson then turned to his wife. "Rebecca, are you alright?" he asked as he shook her slightly, but there was no response. He called her name twice more but received no responses. He lifted her head of the dashboard air bag and leaned it back on her seat. He drew his hands closer to her nose to check for breath but couldn't feel any respiratory activity. He got scared for a moment and quickly checked her pulse. There was a small response, proving that she was still alive at the very least. Although, she could be in danger if she doesn't receive help soon.
With his mind engulfed in fear, he struggled in locating his phone to call paramedics. Before he could press 'call', a gun was placed on the side of his head. "Get out of the car!!" the holder commanded as the door opened and the injured doctor was forced out of the overturned car. Dr. Michelson raised his hands and slowly slumped down onto the side of the car trying to aid Elijah out. They were surrounded by a group of five masked men armed with desert eagles and AK-47's. Elijah was then pried out of the car as well along with his comatose mother. "Mom!" Elijah shouted as he crawled to her and shook her. He cried louder as he got no response from her.
"Both of you, get over here", the leader commanded with his gun trained on them. Dr. Michelson held on to his son as they approached the men. Still dizzy from the accident, Dr. Michelson managed to pull Elijah behind him and asked, "Please, I don't know what you want from me but I need to get my wife to the hospital. She's in critical condition". "Don't bother; the bitch is already dead", one of the masked men said after checking her pulse.
Elijah burst into loud sobs after hearing the masked man's comment. "Forget about that. Do we have the honor of addressing the famous Dr. Emmanuel Michelson?" the one who appeared to be the leader asked. "Who wants to know?" Dr. Michelson asked trying to hold his apprehension. "Just answer the question damn it", another one of them yelled, cocking his gun and pointing it at Elijah. "Yes, I am. Who are you and what do you want from me?" Dr. Michelson asked clutching Elijah firmly behind him. "I don't have any money so leave us alone", Dr. Michelson added but the leader responded with a shake of his head. "Don't worry rich guy, we don't want your money", he said. "Then, what do you want from me?", Dr. Michelson asked with a puzzled look. "Our sources tell us that you always have classified information from the Institute on you at all times. That sort of information will sell at a high price on the black market", the leader said with a grin.
"I don't know what you are talking about", Dr. Michelson tried to play dumb. "Don't play dumb with me you bastard, we know you've got a storage device on you with all the information so hand it over, or else your son follows his mom", he said in a threatening manner. "Okay, just follow me". Dr. Michelson led them to the convertible's trunk. "When I tell you to run, you run", he whispered to his son who nodded in response. He approached the car and feigned opening the trunk. "Run!" he shouted as Elijah turned and fled as fast as his little legs could run.
Taking advantage of their hesitation, Dr. Michelson swung a blow which rendered one of the masked men unconscious and followed up with a chop to the neck of another, breaking his trachea, and causing the man to suffocate. Before he could pick up a dropped weapon to level the playing field, he heard a gunshot followed by a piercing pain running through his chest. He looked down to see the bullet hole on the left side of his chest, probably through his heart.
He fell to his knees as he turned to the direction his son took only to see his son running back to him. "Elijah, no!" he mumbled and crushed unto the ground. The remaining three masked men turned to the car and tore it apart, searching it. Elijah got to his father, knelt beside him and sobbed bitterly, "Dad please don't leave me". "Don't worry son I won't leave you", Dr. Michelson said as he struggled to breathe, spurting blood in the process.
The masked men then returned with a small locked case. The leader pried it open to reveal a hundred terabyte external hard drive with the Institutes logo on it. "I'm going to overlook the fact that you tried to deceive us. I would have killed you all, but I think your kid deserves to live and suffer for your mistakes", the leader said.
"Boss, what do we do about our guys?" one of his remaining two guys asked. "It looks like they're not going to wake up any time soon. The cops will be here soon. We can't afford any hiccups. Besides, we already got what we came for", the leader said as he pulled out his gun and shot his unconscious men in the head, completely startling Elijah. "Farewell kid", the leader said as they turned to leave.
The currently irrational Elijah picked up a dead masked man's gun and with all the strength he could muster in his little arms, fired off consecutive shots at the leader and his men. The first bullet went right through the leader's head, killing him on the spot and causing him to drop the hard drive shattering it. Due to their shock, the other two couldn't react on time as one of them also took a bullet to the neck severing his artery. As the last bullet approached the third masked man, he fired a shot of his own. Before Elijah could respond, a bullet flew through his own head.
"No!!" Dr. Michelson shouted faintly as his son fell, face first onto the ground dead. "Shit!", the last man yelled as he also fell to the ground, bleeding but very much alive. The bullet had passed through his chest but nowhere near his heart, though, late treatment could kill him. The scene then grew quiet as sirens could be heard in the distance approaching. "Rebecca! Elijah!" Dr. Michelson shouted in agony as his vision finally darkened.
A month passed and Dr. Michelson finally awoke from his coma. His eyes opened to the brightness of a hospital room. He looked around to see several bouquets and get-well cards from his friends and loved ones all around his bed. He tried to get up but was quickly restrained by the attending nurse. "Please take your time sir, you just awoke from your coma and are not well enough to move yet. The doctor will be right with you", she said as she fluffed his pillow and laid him back on the bed.
"Where am I?" Dr. Michelson asked. His memories were kind of fuzzy at the moment. "You are at the Sienna Metropolis General Hospital", she replied. "How long have I been in the coma?" he asked. "You were rushed in here about a month ago. You were involved in an attempted armed robbery. You were shot in the chest but luckily the bullet just grazed your heart. But the excessive loss of blood almost killed you. You were lucky enough that the paramedics got to you on time" she answered.
"What about my wife and my son? Are they still alive?" he asked with a hopeful tone. "I'm sorry sir, by the time the paramedics arrived, they'd been dead for a while", she responded. He lay quietly to digest the news as small tear drops leaked from his eyes.
There was a knock as the doctor along with Dr. Hezekiah Michelson, Emmanuel's elder brother walked in. "It's good to finally see you awake. You won't believe how scared and anxious I was", Hezekiah said as he gently hugged his brother. "I'm sorry about Rebecca and Elijah. They'll be missed", he gave his condolences as he stepped back for the doctor to do his work.
"What happened to the guys who robbed us?" Emmanuel asked his brother. "Only one survived. He has already been prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison at the state penitentiary and the one who leaked the information has been captured. We'll talk more when you are discharged", Hezekiah responded. Emmanuel took a deep breath as he tried to quell the murderous rage in his heart. "When will I be discharged?" he asked the doctor.
"We'll have to run a few tests and keep you for further observation but I'm pretty sure within two to three weeks' time, you should be discharged", the doctor answered. Emmanuel sighed and fell back unto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Get some rest bro. I'll be back to see you later", Hezekiah said as he left the room. Emmanuel soon fell back asleep as the Iv and quiet atmosphere did their work.